Just Breathe: Tips for Practicing Self-Care

What is self-care? To me, self-care is taking the time to better yourself and the people around you. As a teen, I can say stress comes from many things, one big one being having the mindset to please everybody all the time. When we let stress take the wheel on life it can lead to depression. In my eyes, taking a day to yourself and worrying less about pleasing everyone else can relieve strain on your mental health.

Our mental health affects how we think, view others, and how we perceive ourselves. When we lose sight of the importance of putting ourselves first, we resort to a depressed state and block out others. Blocking out the ones you love only worries them and then they may think they have done something wrong.

This can all be avoided by taking time to yourself and paying attention to the good things in life. “Progress is progress, no matter how big the step,” said sophomore Jayne Thomas.

FCHS teacher Ben Hudson agrees. “Self-care is important because you want to keep your physical and mental health at a high level for yourself and others to keep a positive mindset,” he said.

Self-care comes in many different ways. Some examples are spending time with family and friends, pampering yourself with some skin care, taking a lazy day for yourself, going a walk, baking, or doing anything that makes you happy. When I say “selfcare,” I don’t necessarily mean that this is only something you can do by yourself, or that you can’t practice self care surrounded by friends or family. I just mean that you take a day to show yourself that the stress isn’t worth it. While getting school work, work, or other responsibilities done done is important, you have to make time for your well-being too.

Practicing self-care also means doing what you can to be healthy. Some steps you can take might include eating a nutritious breakfast, exercising (which can be as simple as a short walk), trying relaxing activities like breathing exercises or meditation, and keeping a regular sleep schedule. These can all contribute to having a good mindset.

Keep in mind that you don’t have to address all of these steps at once, as that might be too overwhelming. Instead, set manageable goals for yourself, such as deciding to take your dog for a walk every afternoon after school.

If your mental health gets worse to the point where you feel like nothing you’re doing is helping, you’re not alone. There are lots of people and resources out there you could reach out to. Try talking to a trusted adult, counselor or friend. If you feel uncomfortable reaching out to someone you know, there are many hotlines that can help (see below).

Remember, no person or thing should come before your mental health and well-being. Focus on putting yourself first and setting goals for your future. Even a small change can make a difference for your future.

Suicide hotline – call 988 on your cell phone
Crisis text line – text “HOME” to 741741 to start the conversation